Due to lead found in the rifle range and boiler room of the 69th Regiment armory on 26th and Lexington in NYC, no civilians will be allowed to enter the armory when the unit returns from parade duty on March 17. Wives and family members of the soldiers are included in the ban. Only a DOD ID card showing active status will be accepted. The soldiers will be allowed to have a quick meal and then be asked to leave or board the bus that took them there ASAP. All shows scheduled in the armory have been cancelled until the lead is removed. Contracts are being prepared to clean the 36 armories in the State. I do not know if the Jersey City armory or any other armory in New Jersey has or had a rifle range and therefore is being or has been evaluated.

The 69th armory was always open after the parade for veterans to come back to visit as well as for other people celebrating the day. It should be OK for 2018???

Please let the membership know. It was a popular stop and this year it is a Friday. The Veterans are scrambling for a replacement venue but nothing suitable or available yet.

Beautiful weather met us at the race track for the Division’s Annual Day at the Races on June 21. With one of the best attendance records at the event, the Division managed to raise money, and have a great time with family and friends!

Irish eyes were smiling Saturday, and so were everybody else’s, as thousands attended the Jersey City Irish Festival, which took over Exchange Place on the city’s waterfront. There were bagpipers, step dancers, plenty of T-shirt and food vendors, rock bands and flowing beer — and a heartwarming story of love.

Newark resident Owen Riley, 21, and Kearny’s Bridget Massett, 21, said they met at the festival three years ago and found out they both had been separately attending the festival with family members since they were in grammar school.

“He was so cute,” Massett said of meeting her beau in 2010. “I was like ‘will you go out with me?’”

“We came here to explore our Irish roots and we started dating,” said Riley.

“We look forward to seeing a lot of people who come back to Jersey City,” said Maureen Killeen Hulings, vice-chair of the St. Patrick’s Parade Committee, the nonprofit organization responsible for putting together the festival since 1999.

Three bands performed this year: The Narrowbacks, The Prodigals and Black 47.

But for much of the afternoon, it was 78-year-old Patricia Squires of Bayonne who stole the show as she showed off her solo dance moves near the stage.

“I‘m so thrilled that I can be here. As soon as I got here I heard the music and started to dance,” said the former school teacher. “My energy is exquisite.”

On October 29, 2012, SuperStorm Sandy destroyed the Jersey Shore. Brothers from Division 1 Hudson County were there to help pick up the pieces. Here, Brothers Jon Connors (left), and Rob Healy (right), take a break from working on destroyed homes in Sea Bright, NJ.